person. I’ve never killed or committed adultery. Surely God will let
me in.” And Jesus replies, “Your best is not good enough. God demands
perfection and nothing less.”
This is bad
news for imperfect people like you and me. None of us lives up to God’s
standard 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Look into the mirror of the law that
Jesus preached and you will be left with no uncertainty: “I’m a lawbreaker.
I’ll never get in.”
Now you’re
ready to hear the good news:
Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or
the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. (Matthew
5:17)
Jesus preached the
law so that you might appreciate grace. He outlined the high and lofty
requirements of the kingdom so that you would abandon your futile quest to
qualify. He proclaimed God’s perfect standards so that you would trust him who
fulfilled the law on your behalf.
Is Christ the end of the law for you?
The bad news of the law
declares, “You are not perfect,” and the good news of grace responds, “But you
have a high priest who is.”
Therefore he is able to save completely those who come
to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. Such a high
priest truly meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from
sinners, exalted above the heavens. (Hebrews 7:25–26)
The law will leave you
wondering, “Have I done enough? Am I good enough? Am I saved?” But grace gives
you the confidence to declare, “Jesus has done it all. Jesus is good enough.
Jesus saves me to the uttermost.”
This is why
we should not read the so-called commands of Jesus as laws that must be kept .
Jesus preached law so that you would run to grace. You cannot trust his grace and your law-keeping. It’s one or the other, not both.
Christ is the culmination of the law so
that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes. (Romans 10:4)
The gospel of grace declares
that the righteousness you and I need comes to us as a free gift (Romans 1:17,
5:17). You are not counted righteous because you keep the commands of Jesus.
You are judged righteous through faith in Christ alone.
Should we do everything Jesus said?
“We should do everything Jesus said” is a
reckless claim made only by hypocrites. I guarantee those who say we should do everything Jesus
said aren’t doing everything he said. They’re only doing some of the things he
said. How do I know? Because they have retained all of their limbs and
eyeballs. They’re picking and choosing from the words of Jesus. Those sayings
which are too hard they dismiss as figurative. “Jesus didn’t really mean that.”
They’re like the Pharisees who kept the easy laws and rewrote the hard ones.
Doing everything Jesus said is like
ticking every possible response in a multiple-choice test. (You won’t pass.)
It’s driving with both feet on both pedals. (You won’t go far.) It’s marrying
two people at once. (You won’t be happy.)
“Paul, are you saying we should not
live by the law Jesus preached?” Well, if you do, you are declaring your unbelief
in the grace Jesus revealed. You are saying, “Jesus is not the end of the law
for me. I don’t trust his finished work.” This is unwise. It is trampling
underfoot the blood of the covenant and insulting the spirit of grace.
“We must do everything Jesus said”
is a statement of unbelief. It’s saying, “I trust what I do, not what he did.”
Can we ignore the teachings of Jesus?
“Grace-teachers claim the words
of Jesus are not relevant for us and can be rejected as old covenant teaching.”
This is a common accusation made against those who preach the gospel of grace.
Apparently, we don’t take the words of Jesus seriously. In fact, the opposite
is true. Those who value grace are the only ones taking Jesus seriously.
When Jesus is
preaching law, we say that’s serious law and not something to be dismissed
me in.” And Jesus replies, “Your best is not good enough. God demands
perfection and nothing less.”
This is bad
news for imperfect people like you and me. None of us lives up to God’s
standard 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Look into the mirror of the law that
Jesus preached and you will be left with no uncertainty: “I’m a lawbreaker.
I’ll never get in.”
Now you’re
ready to hear the good news:
Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or
the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. (Matthew
5:17)
Jesus preached the
law so that you might appreciate grace. He outlined the high and lofty
requirements of the kingdom so that you would abandon your futile quest to
qualify. He proclaimed God’s perfect standards so that you would trust him who
fulfilled the law on your behalf.
Is Christ the end of the law for you?
The bad news of the law
declares, “You are not perfect,” and the good news of grace responds, “But you
have a high priest who is.”
Therefore he is able to save completely those who come
to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. Such a high
priest truly meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from
sinners, exalted above the heavens. (Hebrews 7:25–26)
The law will leave you
wondering, “Have I done enough? Am I good enough? Am I saved?” But grace gives
you the confidence to declare, “Jesus has done it all. Jesus is good enough.
Jesus saves me to the uttermost.”
This is why
we should not read the so-called commands of Jesus as laws that must be kept .
Jesus preached law so that you would run to grace. You cannot trust his grace and your law-keeping. It’s one or the other, not both.
Christ is the culmination of the law so
that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes. (Romans 10:4)
The gospel of grace declares
that the righteousness you and I need comes to us as a free gift (Romans 1:17,
5:17). You are not counted righteous because you keep the commands of Jesus.
You are judged righteous through faith in Christ alone.
Should we do everything Jesus said?
“We should do everything Jesus said” is a
reckless claim made only by hypocrites. I guarantee those who say we should do everything Jesus
said aren’t doing everything he said. They’re only doing some of the things he
said. How do I know? Because they have retained all of their limbs and
eyeballs. They’re picking and choosing from the words of Jesus. Those sayings
which are too hard they dismiss as figurative. “Jesus didn’t really mean that.”
They’re like the Pharisees who kept the easy laws and rewrote the hard ones.
Doing everything Jesus said is like
ticking every possible response in a multiple-choice test. (You won’t pass.)
It’s driving with both feet on both pedals. (You won’t go far.) It’s marrying
two people at once. (You won’t be happy.)
“Paul, are you saying we should not
live by the law Jesus preached?” Well, if you do, you are declaring your unbelief
in the grace Jesus revealed. You are saying, “Jesus is not the end of the law
for me. I don’t trust his finished work.” This is unwise. It is trampling
underfoot the blood of the covenant and insulting the spirit of grace.
“We must do everything Jesus said”
is a statement of unbelief. It’s saying, “I trust what I do, not what he did.”
Can we ignore the teachings of Jesus?
“Grace-teachers claim the words
of Jesus are not relevant for us and can be rejected as old covenant teaching.”
This is a common accusation made against those who preach the gospel of grace.
Apparently, we don’t take the words of Jesus seriously. In fact, the opposite
is true. Those who value grace are the only ones taking Jesus seriously.
When Jesus is
preaching law, we say that’s serious law and not something to be dismissed
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